Batman: Beyond Reason
by Valandil
Summary: The years have taken a toll of Bruce, and after coming out of hiding, he confronts old friends, old enemies, and ultimately death.


Lightning struck a nearby tower in Gotham City. Water came pouring down into the gritty dark alleys downtown as several people tried to find cover from the rain. Thunder clapped in the moon-lit distance, and gunshots were suddenly added to the mix. Gunshots from a tommy-gun fired by a man with no crime. The innocent man had no choice, and was forced by an evil. The evil force then laughed as their victim fulfilled their goal of murder. The murder of a knight. A knight of Gotham City.

**Batman: Beyond Reason**

10 hours earlier. The year is 2025. Laughter and fun filled a park in Gotham City. Proto-type hover cars whizzed by, and giant faces covered the billboards of the towering skyscrapers. An expensive car stopped by a tall building, and an elderly man stepped out. He was broken. Old scars covered his face, and weak bones hindered his movement. He walked into the building, with stares and murmuring by people around him. Suddenly someone spoke aloud.

"Is that you, Bruce? Oh my gosh! It's so nice you see you!" a middle-aged woman exclaimed, "It's me, Vicky Vale! I haven't seen you for 15 years! Where have you been all this time?" The surrounding people paused their conversations in anticipation of what Wayne was going to say in response.

"It's been a long time," The man said, in a negative mood , as if he wasn't having a good day. Vicky paused for a moment, and looked down at the ground, thinking of something to say.

" Are you free tonight?" Bruce asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes, I am," Vicky replied quickly.

"Eight o'clock, my place," Bruce said with a smile on his face. He continued to walk toward an elevator, now looking more positive. He was in a Rest Home, and old memories in wheel chairs went by him, only making him realize that he was getting older. He rode the elevator to the top of the tower, and exited at the expensive suits. He walked to the room of an old friend, Lucius Fox. He knocked on the door, and was invited in.

"It'd nice to see you again," Lucius after he took a breath of oxygen from a machine next to him, "no one has really heard from you since Joker's death. Did you go into hiding because of fear of being called a murderer?"

"I didn't murder him," Bruce said, "it was suicide. He didn't want to be defeated by my hands. He wanted the last laugh, so he killed himself."

"Thank you for clearing it up for me, not much news has surfaced over the years about it. I didn't think you killed him. It's not like you." The conversion went on, as the two men exchanged stories and events.

Time slipped by, and the afternoon went quickly, until Bruce realized he had to leave, and said good bye.

"We should do this again," Lucius said, as Bruce left the room. He looked at a wall-mounted clock to notice that it was getting late. Time for dinner. He exhaled at the thought of a nice night with Vicky Vale. Not a night of ruthless violence and murder. The life of Batman was behind him. He fulfilled what he set out to do. Since Joker had died 7 years earlier, the crime rings split up, and the police arrested the villains that once threatened the lives of innocent citizens. _There is no Batman. Just Bruce_. Wayne thought. He made his way to his car and stepped in. His driver started to drive him back to the mansion, when suddenly he heard a scream from above. He looked up at the Rest Home to see chaos and running in the halls visible from the windows. Something was terribly wrong. Maybe someone had a heart-attack.

"Drive me back," Bruce said to his driver. He was scared. Not for fear of his own life, but for fear that Lucius might have died. He stepped out of the car can jogged into the building. He saw chaos. People running around, Police sirens off in the distance.

"What happened here?" Bruce asked.

"Someone came in with a gun, and went in one of the elevators," someone said, others said virtually the same thing. _Why would someone want to go into a Rest Home with a gun ? Does it have to do with me? _Bruce thought as he made his way back up to Lucius's room. He ran into the hall of the room, and noticed that the door was open. He went in to see it completely empty, with a note lying on a table.

Gotham Harbor - 11:00 - Come Alone.

_What could this mean? An old enemy? But who? And why would they want Lucius? _Bruce then realized his new-found freedom was short lived, and that old demons still lingered. His life was still full of danger, and he would have to end that life of Batman. Again. He then realized that he couldn't end Batman. He was Batman, not Bruce Wayne. He couldn't stop that fact. He had to live with it. Batman would strike again.

Bruce went back to the Mansion, and into the cave, and took the weapons he might need for the confrontation at the Harbor. The kidnapper might not know that he is Batman, but if the kidnapper does know, he would have to be prepared. Two hours later, the Dark Knight was equipped with light armor, and an assortment of gadgets hidden in the ordinary clothes he wore on the outside of his body. He was ready.

Clouds started to form as Bruce drove toward the Gotham Harbor. He analyzed everything on his way there. Anything that could be out of the ordinary. He parked exited the car cautiously, to make sure no snipers hid in the sky-scrapers above him. As he walked into the harbor he looked for booby-traps, or any other kind of danger. He made his way into the main building, and looked around. Nothing. _Was this a trap? Is there a bomb? _He then heard a yell from a room on the other side of the building.

It was Lucius. He was still alive. Bruce slowly walked in, only to be struck in the back from behind. Even with his armor on under his clothes, the strike hurt very bad - a result of his old age. Bruce, on the ground, turned around and saw the kidnapper. It was a woman, middle-aged, with blonde hair, and a thin figure. Harley Quinn. She didn't age well.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" Harley said as she lifted the baseball bat up to strike Bruce again. As she hit him continuously, Bruce yelled in pain, and she laughed. Lucius was tied to the wall, and had to watch the torture. Finally Harley stopped.

"Why…why did you need to bring him here?" Bruce said with his remaining strength.

" Because he is going to kill you," Harley replied, "I know you killed puddin' , I heard about it. I can't let you go unpunished." Bruce wasn't surprised by her flat-out revealing of her plan. She wasn't the type to give hints and riddles. She is no professional. He was surprised, however, by her actual plan. Why not kill him her self? Bruce saw that Harley was lifting the baseball bat up again in his peripheral vision. He dodged the first strike, and leapt to his feat. He threw a Batarang that struck her hand, and she dropped the weapon in pain. She backed away from Batman as he walked toward her slowly. She reached behind herself and grabbed a tommy-gun. She was reluctant to fire it however.

"I get it," Batman said, " You can't kill me. It isn't what 'Mr. J' would have wanted. You need someone else to do it." Harley then glanced at Lucius.

"I'm sorry, Bruce," Lucius said as he caught the gun when Harley tossed it to him.

"Why?" Batman asked. Before Lucius could answer, he pulled the trigger, and bullets riddled Batman, and he collapsed. Lightning struck outside, and it started to rain.

" I'm sorry Bruce. If I didn't Harley said she'd bomb the City Hall, I had to…" He then started to cry. Batman rolled on his back, and he started to cough blood. Harley acted startled, surprised, relieved, and scared at the same time, as if she couldn't comprehend what just happened. She then started to laugh hysterically.

_I failed. There is nothing I can do to bring justice, _Batman thought. Then he glanced at the tommy-gun on a table, in reaching distance. _No. I can't. I can't shoot her…it isn't the right thing to do…the police would get her anyway. It ends here. At the defeat of my enemy's hands. Wait. There is a way I could stop myself from this defeat. _Batman looked at the Tommy gun again. _Can I? No. I won't commit suicide. I would be like the Joker. Then again, I would be free of my defeat… _

Police sirens rang at the sun came into view. The police journeyed into the Gotham Harbor and made their way into the main building, and then at the room in the back of it. They saw Lucius Fox dead on a table. Didn't take is medication on purpose. They then saw an Harley Quinn huddled in the corner, shivering, and mumbling. Lastly, they saw the Dark Knight lying on his back, murdered, with a tommy gun on a nearby table.

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Thank you for reading Please comment about your thoughts about the story. Constuctive critism is welcome.


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